Recap for 4 Sh’vat 5775 (Parsha Bo)

This Shabbos David Schlesinger led discussion.  We started off discussing the week’s parsha, Bo, as well as Rav Yeager’s commentary on the parsha.  Dave W brought up how the gematria value of "Bo" is 3, and there are exactly 3 plagues in this week’s parsha.  We see the number 2 a lot, man and woman, heaven and earth, spiritual and physical, etc. etc. but it is interesting how sometimes the number 3 comes up as it does in this week's parsha.

We discussed how it was preordained that Pharaoh would not release us until after the plague of the first born. For each of the plagues, Moshe would go through the motions of waiting and seeing how pharaoh would respond, but Hashem had already determined and communicated to Moshe, in a previous parsha, that we would be released following a “plague of the first born”.

We discussed how Hashem actually interfered with the free will of Pharaoh to ensure this is how it would happen. And we discussed how Moshe actually knew when this “plague of the first born” had arrived, as it being the point in which no more specific plagues were communicated.  Moshe then had to remember back to what he had been told by Hashem in the past parsha. Having said this, we did discuss an alternate theory, that perhaps Hashem reminded Moshe of the tenth plague by some type of prophecy.

We discussed the special significance of this tenth plague. Up until this point in history there had been a total lack of morality in the world. Power and control was determined by strength and position according to caste systems. “Survival of the fitness” was not only the way of nature, but the way of human kind as well. We know today that this is an immoral system, but this is what existed in Egypt and the world back then. The first born were given certain powers in society, simply because they were the first born, and Hashem wanted to send a message that this type of a system was wrong. So the “plague of the first born” was put into place.

Norm brought up the point that the plagues were also meant to send a message to Pharaoh to not mess with the Jews, and we discussed how we were able to put blood on our door posts in order to be “passed over” by this plague. Dave W brought up the point that although the plagues may not have been meant for us, only 20% of the Jews made it out of Egypt. Dave W mentioned that we who are the descendants of those who did make it out should consider ourselves fortunate.

We discussed how it was the Jews who brought this new morality to the world, that physical strength and power is not what determines right and wrong. We are fortunate to live in a society with the rule of law and rights for everyone, including those who are weak. Brett pointed out that his clients do have certain rights, although they can’t claim to be amoral, like the animals in the animal kingdom. We discussed how animals lack any morality at all, and how they are not immoral but amoral.

The next part of our learning concerned a book that Norm found in his father’s house.  Norm talked about how he found this book in his father's house and brought it to David, who had misplaced his copy of the same book.  We discussed from the book, how some people may not support a secular Israel, however they are strong believers in the importance and significance of Israel to begin with. 

We discussed from the book how Israel is the center of the world. Of course, the world is spherical and Israel is not at the center, however what happens in Israel is center to the world. We discussed all the amazing scientific discoveries in Israel. We discussed the innovations involved the turning of salt water into drinkable and usable water. When I was in Israel I remember visiting a company that made tiny cameras that are the size of a pill that one would swallow in order to take pictures of their digestive system.  My sister is a nurse and I remember her telling me how she works with these cameras.

We discussed the kindness of the people in Israel. David told how Ariav went to the market and only had a credit card. The merchant allowed Ariav to come back the next day and pay. I remember when I was over there talking to people. They were very direct and did not “sugar coat” like they do in Memphis, but the chessed and kindness from them was incredible.  Total strangers would treat me like someone they had known for a long time.

This Shabbos we also discussed halakuh from Rav Malamed. There are 39 different types of work that are forbidden on Shabbos. We discussed how these 39 types of works are categories and not necessarily specific. We discussed why it is that the prohibition against fire, is the one halakuh that is mentioned in the Torah. We discussed how fire is the one way – both directly and indirectly - that Man tends to control and have power over things. Shabbos is the one day that we respect that it is Hashem who is really in control.

This is a summary of what we discussed.  No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred. To unsubscribe, send reply email with unsubscribe in the subject line.  

Recap of our discussion, 26 Tevet 5775 (Parsha Va’eira)

This Shabbos, David Schlesinger led discussion.  We discussed parsha Va’eira including commentary by both Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl, and Rav Yeager.  David also told a couple stories from his father.  This parsha happens to be Avishai’s barmitzvah parsha!  We hope he had a great Shabbos over in Israel!

We started off discussing some of the events from the end of the parsha. There was a lot of hail, but it only destroyed the older crops. The crops that were not yet ripe seemed to survive.  We discussed the question of whether this was really just nature, or was it a miracle that came from Hashem that some crops survived?  The hail contained fire which seems miraculous.  And the fact such powerful hail did not kill all the crops, also seems miraculous.

We discussed the idea that Hashem continuously wills everything into existence and is an active participant in our world, rather than someone who created the world and then got out of the way. Hashem wills thing in our world to follow certain patterns, however at any time Hashem can decide to make an abrupt “turn” and the pattern will discontinue. The analogy we came up with is that of an army. The army commander instructs the army to march forward.  And it does, until the commander shouts “left face!” and the army turns.

Brett brought up the point that Hashem is the creator of the physical laws. However, there are certain miracles that seem to be caused by something above and beyond simply physical laws.  Brett brought up the miracle that Juniper was created next to earth in order to divert all the asteroids from destroying life on this planet. It may be that hashem, did not so much create physical laws, as he decided on physical laws. And  he continuously wills things to follow the patterns of these laws except for special miracles.

We discussed that this week’s parsha seems to be the first time Hashem has "interfered” in physical laws. This was a point brought up by Yaki. We discussed why Hashem has chosen to remain hidden and the world seems to operate according to physical laws. The first reason, is that if Hashem immediately rewarded and/or punished us for doing, (or not doing), mitzvah this would take away our free will. The second reason, is that if Hashem did not create physical laws for us, it would be very hard for us to operate in the world. We would not know whether our cars would work, how to boil water, or how to heal our bodies.

Dave W brought up the point that miracles are really happening a lot more than we think. He told the story about his place at American Way and Getwell that survived, when the rest of the area was severely damaged. Norm commented that if just one little thing was off, we would not be here at all. Norm talked about how just a fraction of a second, can throw things off, as it does when we make adjustments to time and computer systems become confused. It is important to realize that miracles from Hashem do not just happen in the Torah, but also happen to us in our personal lives.

One of the ideas we discussed this Shabbos, is how although Hashem can create miracles, we have to do our part. I can pray to win the lottery, but I have to buy a lottery ticket. I can hope I’m able to do these notes, but I have to focus at our learnings. But once I do my part, Hashem will do his part. Hashem helps me remember what we discussed when I write these summaries. However, sometimes his part may not be as obvious and immediate. I can buy a lottery ticket, but I am not going to win because I did my part!  Hashem wants us to use our free will, so consequences of our actions, both positive and negative, are often not going to be immediate and obvious, and we may not get to pick and choose which miracles we want, such as winning the lottery!

This Shabbos, we discussed a book about Israel that is from Norm’s father. Norm talked about growing up in Queen’s, NY. The book talks about the spiritual beauty of Israel. One of the important points is how we are held to a much higher standard in Israel. This means in Israel it is more important to be a Kiddush hashem. If we are not, we can be expelled from the land. Outside of Israel our standards may be determined by who we are, but in Israel this is not the case. The standards everyone – both Jews and non-Jews - must follow come from the special status of the land itself.  Although we are held to higher standards, we get much greater reward when we are in Israel.  The great feeling we get when we are there, is part of the reward.

This Shabbos we discussed Rav Yeager’s commentary on the parsha. We discussed why it is that we had to be enslaved in Egypt to begin with. Why did we not simply stay in Israel and receive the Torah without having to go through such suffering. Dave W commented that he had a problem with the idea that the reason someone suffers is so that someone can do a mitzvah. Why did we have to be slaves to begin with? The possible answers we discussed are, that the slavery was a consequence of our actions. The other answer is that life is designed to have negatives, so that we can turn the negatives into a positive. If we had not been slaves, we may have not have noticed Hashem who it was who brought us out, and then had a lot less motivation to receive the Torah. Hashem refers to himself in the Torah as the one who “brought you out of Egypt”.

Finally, David told a couple stories from his dad, Dr. Rabbi George Schlesinger this Shabbos. In the first story, there is the time when someone has a lot of anxiety about visiting a rabbi. The rabbi says not to worry, that he will only insult the great. In the second story, someone writes a book and asks a rabbi to write some comments and sign it. The rabbi writes the comments at the top and signs it at the bottom. He explains that it is important to distance ourselves from falsehoods!

This is a summary of what we discussed.  No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred. To unsubscribe, send reply email with unsubscribe in the subject line.  

Recap for 19 Tevet, 5775 (Parsha Shemot)

This Shabbos, the learning was in memory and honor of David’s uncle Micha Ben Tzvi Aryeh, who lived in Israel.  David spoke of the chessed (kindness) his uncle has shown to him and others. David spoke about how his uncle’s great knowledge of halakuh has been helpful to him and others, and spoke about how his uncle would help the davening services run smoothly.

This Shabbos, our thoughts and prayers are also with everyone in France who has suffered as a result of the recent terrorism. We think of our fellow Jews who had to spend Shabbos in a virtual lock down, fearful of their lives. We are proud of our religion and country that stands for good against evil.

This Shabbos we discussed how some may see science as in conflict with Torah.  Some do not believe science should be studied at all, and our education should be composed of Torah alone.  I shared that science is the study of Hashem’s creation of the physical world, and that we need this knowledge in order to participate in this act of creation and perform our mission in life.  However, there is a danger in only studying secular subjects in that we may lose track of our purpose, why we are here to begin with, and how this knowledge of science and secular subjects should be used. Studying a balance of Torah and Secular subjects seems to be the best way to go, in my opinion.

This Shabbos we discussed the meaning of names, and how what we are called can influence us. This is particularly important with children. What we call them can have either a positive or negative effect. We discussed some of the names from the Torah, and how a name can indicate one’s purpose in life. Yaki talked about how Jacob started having the additional name of Israel, and what this meant.  Jacob represents having a fear of negative consequences, and then using strength to overcome these fears.  Israel represents having a more mature fear, which is that of missing out.  We discussed this fear of missing out, and how that is what should motivate us in a more mature state, however children and some elements of society may require fear of immediate consequences as motivators.

We discussed how sometimes it is hard to be motivated by the long term.  After Shabbos, eating a bag of Kettle potato chips and surfing the internet may bring more pleasure than going to the JCC, and running on a treadmill, or using an arc trainer machine. However, in the long run if we keep our bodies healthy, we have more energy to do mitzvah, feel better, and provide our soul the best possible place to reside during its journey in this world (this is from a poster at the JCC).

We discussed the parsha this Shabbos, and specifically Moshe’s interaction with Hashem and all of the apparent “magic” tricks Moshe was shown. Yaki led a discussion of what was the purpose of all these tricks. Yaki shared how the stick represents “good” which turns into a snake, which represents “bad”. Then the snake turns back into a stick - representing something “good”. 

It is important to realize that most of us are good, and those that are not have the potential to return to goodness.  Norm pointed out that the overwhelming majority of people in Memphis are not criminals, and will not end up being one of Brett’s clients.  We have discussed in the past how most of the world is oriented towards construction and not destruction.  However, having said all this, Yaki shared what it meant for the water to turn into blood, and then not be able to turn back into water.  Some, such as Pharaoh, are so "bad" they can not become "good" again and must be defeated.  The water symbolizes "good", and the blood symbolizes "bad".

Efroni presented a very interesting dvar Torah this Shabbos. The dvar torah includes an alternative explanation for some of the events in the parsha.  Efroni discusses how Pharaoh believes or claims he is like a “stick”, simply carrying out Hashem’s plans for the Jewish people.  Efroni discusses how the “stick” becoming a “snake” represents pharaoh taking on a will of his own and exceeding what was necessary.  Dave W also discussed how Pharaoh had definitely exceeded what would be Hashem’s plan.  Efroni’s dvar torah also included an interesting definition of faith, as being the gap between what Hashem would like us to believe and do, and that which seems logical and rational.

This Shabbos we discussed the gift of time that is a precious resource that Hashem gives us. We each have a limited amount of this resource, and it is important that we do not take it for granted.  We discussed how when we become employed, we have sold some of this resource to others.  And when we become enslaved, we no longer have use of our time at all.

It was once thought that improving gains in productivity in our economy would result in our having more free time.  However our desire to consume has continued to go up along with productivity.  Even as we become more productive, we continue to work more and more hours.  Today we have larger homes, drive nicer cars, and own bigger televisions and multiple computing devices.  This is all why it is necessary to have Shabbos, and not rely on our being able to find time for leisure, reflection, and spirituality.

We discussed Rav Yeager’s commentary on the parsha.  Rav Yeager notes how this parsha starts a new book in the Torah,   However, the word used to name the parsha “Shemot” – which means names - does not seem to describe the parsha.  

We discussed how Moshe receives his name, which means pulled from water.  We discussed how water lacks order and structure, whereas dry land does not.  This is analogous to Moshe's mission in life, which is to bring order to disorder.  

We discussed how people's names do not seem to be used in certan parts of the Torah, and then their names reappear.  This is because slavery, not only took away our freedom to use our time, it took away our identity, which is represented by our names.  When we are slaves we are only numbers.  However, in other parts of the Torah the names reappear, when we have their identities restored. We are finally able to see why calling this entire book, the book of Shemot – names – makes sense. This is the book of the Torah in which our identity was restored.

Finally, we discussed the halakuh of cooking on Shabbos. We discussed how cooking is not only heating food, but actually changes the structure of food. For example, a potato becomes soft when it is heated. We discussed how it can still be permitted to keep food warm on Shabbos. However, cooking is forbidden. We also discussed food that becomes hard when cooked, such as eggs.

This is a summary of what we discussed.  No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred. To unsubscribe, send reply email with unsubscribe in the subject line.  

Recap for this Shabbos, 12 of Tevet, 5775 (parsha Vayechi and the case for Hashem's existence)

This Shabbos David Schlesinger led discussion. We discussed this week’s parsha, Vayechi. We then studied and discussed an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal on how science is increasingly making the case that Hashem exists. We also shared the miracles in our own life that make the case for God. Also this Shabbos, David shared some more from his father. And Harold Katz, a regular reader of these summaries, held a Kiddush for the yeirzeit of his wife.

We discussed parsha Vayechi, the last parsha of Bereishit. In the parsha, the Jews have settled in Goshen, keeping somewhat of a distance from the Egyptians. We discussed the importance of sticking together, and living in the same neighborhoods, even in modern times, as we did back in Egypt. We do want to participate in the host culture, however it is important we maintain our identity and watch out to not get side tracked from our mission. Norm pointed out that this is what we were trying to do by settling in Goshen.

In the parsha, Jacob is approaching the end of his life, and gathers his sons together. Usually the oldest son would be given the largest portion, but in this case it went to Joseph. Joseph was blessed by his father for being righteous, and having endured quite a bit of suffering. We also discussed that Joseph was charming and good looking. We discussed how Joseph was given a double portion, one for each of his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, which each became a separate tribe in Canaan.

Reuben, the oldest son of Jacob, is rebuked for being impetuous, and for sleeping with his father’s concubine. We had a lot of discussion on what exactly Reuben did. He certainly did give the appearance of sleeping with his father’s significant other. We discussed how certain people, such as Jacob’s sons destined to be the leaders of the tribes of Israel, are held to the highest standards, and the Torah may call attention to even a hint of character defect. One lesson to learn is that even the appearance of doing something wrong, is wrong, even if nothing wrong was actually done. Another lesson for us, is to not be impetuous, and actually think through our actions before we act.

We discussed how the idea that time had a beginning originates in the Torah. The Torah has been around for thousands of years, but it has not been until recently, over the last 50 years or so, that science has finally come around to support what is in the Torah. The “big bang” theory is now widely accepted by everyone, including scientist.

Another idea that originates in the Torah is that life, including intelligent life, was willed into existence as a separate step and could not and did not come about by only randomness and accident. We discussed an article in the Wall Street journal, “Science increasingly makes the case for God”, by Eric Mataxas. The article points out how science is coming up with more and more factors, that make the odds of life randomly and accidently emerging, less and less likely. Back in the 1960’s it was thought that 1 out of approximately 1000 planets had the conditions that would be necessary for life to emerge, and being that there are 10 to the 27th power planets, it seemed likely we would find life if we began checking the 10 to the 24th power planets that had what were thought were suitable conditions. However, over the last 50 years, more and more conditions for life have been discovered, to the point where today the expected value of number of planets that have the suitable conditions for life is so close to zero that we are not even suppose to be here.

My father once told me we could never be certain of anything. I remember him telling me that it was extremely unlikely, but possible, that the air molecules under the television could life the television up. We will probably never be able to prove with 100% certainty that god exists, but as Dr. Rabbi George N Schlesinger points out, if science accepts things that are almost 100% proven, why can’t we accept the existence of god when we have proven it by almost 100%?

What we are faced with is choosing whether there was an intelligent designer who planned the creation of life, or whether life emerged randomly and accidently from the physical world. Science is increasingly making the case that the odds of an intelligent designer is much more likely than the odds of a planet having emerged randomly that meets the necessary conditions, even with 10 to the 27th power number of planets.

We discussed an article that contained rebuttal to the article making the case for God. The rebuttal makes the point that science is always changing, and that we should thus not rely on science in reaching conclusions about God’s existence. The rebuttal goes on to make the point that it is not really the “job” of religion to determine how things happen, whether randomly or through an intelligent design, but to determine why they happen. Science can never answer a question such as why was man created. We know from the Torah we were created to have a mission, bring spirituality to the physical world, and finish the act of creation. The answers to many questions can only come from religion.  

One of the interesting discussions we had is what it is that may cause a person to believe or not believe in Hashem.  It seems to be more than simply each of us reviewing the evidence and then making a decision.  Having and experiencing miracles in our own lives can be very powerful at shaping our beliefs. Norm shared the incredible experience of seeing and hearing his son’s heart beat for the first time. When I hear Norm’s story, and think about my own miracles, it is not 100% proof of god’s existence, but it certainly strengthens my belief in an intelligent designer.  This seems so much more likely than the alternative theory.  And the miracles to me are not just in the physical body, but in the story of people's lives as well.

David told a story from his father. When people heard that things would last for millions of years they were stress out and worried, but when they heard they would last for billions of years, they were happy and relaxed. At some point the sun will burn out, and I believe that could be a reason for all the additional planets that Hashem has made available. It is dangerous for us to stay on just one planet as not only the sun burning out, but a disease or nuclear war could wipe everyone out. Norm pointed out that our testing of nuclear weapons would lead any possible intelligent life to not want anything to do with us, anyhow.  My personal believe is that hashem wills things into existence. Since he is outside of time, it may occur instantly to him, but to us living in the physical world, things may appear as a process, such as evolution that takes time.

This is a summary of what we discussed.  No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.